But Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg writes that the
global food crisis poses a greater risk to the economic
outlook than the fiscal cliff:

"A lame-duck Congress may well end up kicking the fiscal can down
the road even further, but there is not much it can do about the
fact that the worst drought in the U.S. in five decades has
destroyed nearly 20 percent of the country's expected corn.

Global food price inflation is
bound to severely squeeze consumer spending everywhere. The
harvest for soybeans is widely expected to be the lowest in five
years too.

According to the data cited in the FT, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's estimated corn crop of 10.8 billion bushels was 2.2
billion bushels less than its July projection. The U.S.
rates half of its corn crop in "poor" or "very poor" condition –
the highest share since 1988. The knock-on effects are
potentially huge as corn is mainly used to feed animals and
produce ethanol fuel in the U.S. – domestic red meat and poultry
supplies will decline next year, according to the DOA."

Many have argued that consumer retrenchment is making the
economic slowdown worse, and Rosenberg's argument hits the nail
on the head.